Cliff Lee won the American League Cy Young Award in a runaway Thursday, capping a dominant comeback season that made him the second consecutive Cleveland Indians lefty to earn the honor.

Demoted to the minors last year, Lee went a major league-best 22-3 this season with a 2.54 ERA. He received 24 of 28 first-place votes and 132 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

‘‘It feels a lot better than it felt in ’07,’’ Lee said on a conference call from his Arkansas home. ‘‘I want to win this Cy Young again. I want to make a habit of it.’’

Toronto ace Roy Halladay was a distant runner-up with four first-place votes and 71 points. Record-setting closer Francisco Rodriguez of the Los Angeles Angels finished third with 32 points.

Lee became the third Cleveland pitcher to win a Cy Young, following Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry in 1972 and CC Sabathia last year.

‘‘We are pretty close friends, and there’s a lot of things I picked up from him and I’d like to think there’s a few things he picked up from me,’’ Lee said. ‘‘I’ve tried to help him out in situations and he’s tried to do the same for me. Apparently it’s worked. We’ve turned into pretty good pitchers.’’

Trudging through a disappointing season and cognizant of budget constraints, the injury-depleted Indians traded Sabathia to Milwaukee on July 7. He is expected to fetch a huge contract this offseason after filing for free agency.

‘‘I definitely miss him being around on the team. He’s someone that I leaned on,’’ Lee said. ‘‘I saw how he did it in ’07 and I watched everything he did. I knew what it took because I’d seen it. It definitely was a benefit to watch it right in front of me.’’